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History of the Theatre

History of the Theatre

Summary

First published in 1968, History of the Theatre is the most comprehensive and widely used survey of theatre history. The eighth edition retains all of the traditional features that have made History of the Theatre a classic for over thirty years, including over 530 photos and illustrations, useful maps, and the expertise of Oscar Brockett, one of the most widely respected theatre historians in the field. Franklin J. Hildy contributes his scholarship and experience throughout the text and, in particular, to a discussion of English Theatre/Shakespeare (Ch. 6). The authors have scrutinized each chapter closely to sharpen, update, and reinterpret information. Revised to include and address new revisionist scholarship, the eighth edition continues to provide the most thorough and accurate assessment of the history of theatre available.

Table of Contents

Preface

xi

CHAPTER 1 The Origins of Theatre

1

(12)

The Theory of Ritual Origin

1

(2)

Performative Elements and Functions

3

(2)

Other Theories of Origin

5

(2)

Ancient Egypt and the Near East

7

(3)

Looking at Theatre History

10

(3)

CHAPTER 2 Theatre and Drama in Ancient Greece

13

(36)

The Origin of Tragedy

15

(1)

The City Dionysia in the Sixth Century

16

(1)

Tragedy in the Fifth Century

17

(2)

The Satyr Play

19

(1)

Greek Comedy in the Fifth Century

20

(2)

The Dramatic Festivals of the Fifth Century

22

(2)

Play Selection and Financing

24

(1)

Actors and Acting

24

(1)

The Chorus

25

(2)

Music and Dance

27

(1)

Costumes and Masks

27

(4)

Theatre Architecture

31

(3)

Auditorium and Audience

34

(2)

Greek Drama After the Fifth Century

36

(2)

The Athenian Theatre in the Fourth Century

38

(2)

The Hellenistic Theatre

40

(5)

Greek Mimes

45

(2)

Looking at Theatre History

47

(2)

CHAPTER 3 Roman and Byzantine Theatre and Drama

49

(32)

Etruscan Antecedents

50

(1)

The Roman Context

51

(2)

Roman Festivals

53

(1)

Drama Under the Romans

53

(6)

Other Entertainments

59

(1)

Production Arrangements

60

(1)

The Roman Theatre Structure

61

(3)

Other Structures for Entertainments

64

(1)

Scenery

64

(3)

Actors and Acting

67

(2)

Masks and Costumes

69

(1)

Music

70

(1)

The Decline of the Theatre in Rome

71

(1)

Theatre in the Eastern Empire

72

(2)

The Byzantine Theatre

74

(2)

The Rise of Islam

76

(1)

Looking at Theatre History

77

(4)

CHAPTER 4 European Theatre and Drama in the Middle Ages

81

(40)

The Theatre, 500 to 900 A.D.

83

(2)

The Liturgical Drama

85

(4)

The Staging of Liturgical Drama

89

(1)

The Feast of Fools

90

(1)

The Late Middle Ages

91

(1)

Performances Outside the Church

91

(2)

The Vernacular Religious Drama

93

(2)

Production Arrangements

95

(1)

The Director

96

(1)

Actors and Acting

97

(1)

Costumes

98

(1)

The Stages

99

(3)

Scenery

102

(2)

Special Effects and Machinery

104

(1)

Music

105

(1)

Audiences and Auditoriums

106

(1)

Secular Dramatic Forms

107

(1)

Farce

107

(2)

The Morality Play

109

(2)

Chambers of Rhetoric

111

(1)

Interludes

112

(2)

Tournaments, Mummings, and Disguisings

114

(1)

Royal Entries and Street Pageants

115

(2)

The End of Medieval Drama

117

(1)

Looking at Theatre History

118

(3)

CHAPTER 5 Italian Theatre and Drama, 1400-1700

121

(32)

Renaissance Drama

122

(3)

Beginnings of the Baroque Era

125

(1)

The Neoclassical Ideal

125

(2)

Intermezzi and Opera

127

(1)

The Development of New Scenic Practices

128

(8)

Development of Theatre Architecture

136

(3)

Machinery and Special Effects

139

(2)

Music and Dance

141

(1)

The Festival Context

141

(1)

Stage Lighting

142

(1)

Commedia dell' Arte

143

(5)

The Decline of Italy

148

(1)

Looking at Theatre History

149

(4)

CHAPTER 6 English Theatre from the Middle Ages to 1642

153

(34)

Early Tudor Drama

153

(2)

The University Wits

155

(1)

Shakespeare and His Contemporaries

156

(3)

Jacobean and Caroline Dramatists

159

(1)

Government Regulation of the Theatre

160

(1)

Acting Troupes

161

(4)

The Public Theatres

165

(7)

The Private Theatres

172

(4)

Scenery, Properties, Special Effects, and Music

176

(1)

Costumes

177

(1)

Audiences

178

(1)

The Stuart Court Masques

178

(5)

Looking at Theatre History

183

(4)

CHAPTER 7 The Spanish Theatre to 1700

187

(18)

The Religious Drama

188

(2)

The Beginnings of a Secular Drama

190

(1)

The Early Professional Theatre in Spain

191

(1)

Lope de Vega and His Contemporaries

192

(1)

Calderon and His Contemporaries

193

(1)

The Corrales

194

(4)

Acting Companies

198

(1)

Actors and Acting

198

(2)

Costumes

200

(1)

The Stage and Scenery

200

(1)

Court Entertainments

201

(2)

Looking at Theatre History

203

(2)

CHAPTER 8 The Theatre in France, 1500-1700

205

(28)

Theatre at Court and in the Schools Prior to 1600

205

(2)

The Public Theatre in Paris Before 1595

207

(1)

The Public Theatre, 1595-1629

208

(2)

The Triumph of the Neoclassical Ideal

210

(3)

Acting Companies, 1629-1660

213

(1)

The Public Theatre, 1629-1660

214

(1)

Scenic Practices in the Public Theaters, 1629-1660

215

(2)

The Triumph of the Italian Ideal in Scenery, 1640-1660

217

(2)

The Naturalization of the Italian Ideal, 1660-1700

219

(3)

French Drama, 1660-1700

222

(3)

Acting Companies, 1660-1700

225

(1)

The Organization of French Acting Companies

226

(2)

Theatre Architecture and Scenic Practices, 1660-1700

228

(1)

The Close of the Seventeenth Century

229

(2)

Looking at Theatre History

231

(2)

CHAPTER 9 The British Theatre 1642-1800

233

(34)

Theatrical Activity, 1642-1660

233

(3)

The Reestablishment of the Theatre

236

(1)

Acting Companies, 1660-1700

236

(1)

English Drama, 1660-1700

237

(3)

English Drama, 1700-1750

240

(3)

Governmental Regulation of the Theatre

243

(2)

English Drama, 1750-1800

245

(2)

The Playwright

247

(1)

Financial Policies

247

(2)

Theatre Architecture

249

(2)

Scenic Practices

251

(3)

Costume Practices

254

(2)

Actors and Acting, 1660-1800

256

(5)

Audiences and Performances

261

(1)

The Provincial Theatre

262

(1)

Theatre of Colonial North America

263

(1)

Looking at Theatre History

264

(3)

CHAPTER 10 Italy and France in the Eighteenth Century

267

(26)

The Evolution of Italian Scenic Design

267

(5)

Italian Drama of the Eighteenth Century

272

(2)

French Drama of the Eighteenth Century

274

(4)

Parisian Acting Troupes

278

(5)

The Dramatist

283

(1)

Actors and Acting

283

(2)

Theatre Architecture

285

(2)

Scenic Practices

287

(1)

Costume Practices

288

(2)

Looking at Theatre History

290

(3)

CHAPTER 11 Theatre in Northern and Eastern Europe during the Eighteenth Century

293

(32)

The Court Theatres of Germany

293

(3)

The Jesuit Theatre

296

(1)

The Early Public Theatre in Germany

297

(2)

The Reforms of Gottsched and Neuber

299

(1)

Acting Troupes, 1740-1770

300

(2)

German Drama, 1740-1787

302

(3)

The Establishment of National Theatres, 1770-1800

305

(2)

Evolution of Staging in the Eighteenth Century

307

(3)

F.L. Schroder

310

(1)

Iffland and Kotzebue

311

(1)

Goethe, Schiller, and Weimar Classicism

312

(1)

Theatre and Drama in Other Countries of Northern Europe

315

(3)

Theatre in Russia to 1800

318

(3)

Looking at Theatre History

321

(4)

CHAPTER 12 Theatre in Europe and the United States during the Early Nineteenth Century

325

(52)

Theoretical Foundations of Romanticism

326

(1)

Romantic Drama in Germany

327

(2)

Postromantic German-Language Drama

329

(3)

Theatrical Conditions in German-Language Theatres

332

(4)

The French Theatre, 1789-1815

336

(1)

French Drama, 1800-1850

337

(3)

Theatrical Conditions in France, 1800-1850

340

(1)

Directing and Acting in France, 1800-1850

341

(3)

Scenery, Costume, and Lighting in France, 1800-1850

344

(3)

Russian Drama and Theatre, 1800-1850

347

(3)

Trends in English Theatre, 1800-1843

350

(2)

English Drama, 1800-1850

352

(2)

English Theatrical Conditions, 1800-1843

354

(6)

Macready and Vestris

360

(2)

Theatre in North America, 1782-1815

362

(3)

The Expanding American Theatre, 1815-1850

365

(9)

Looking at Theatre History

374

(3)

CHAPTER 13 Theatre and Drama in Europe and the United States during the Late Nineteenth Century

377

(44)

The Beginnings of Realism

378

(1)

French Drama, 1850-1900

379

(2)

Theatrical Conditions in France, 1850-1900

381

(6)

English Drama, 1850-1900

387

(3)

English Theatrical Conditions, 1843-1860

390

(3)

English Theatrical Conditions, 1860-1880

393

(3)

English Theatrical Conditions, 1880-1900

396

(5)

Theatre in the United States, 1850-1870

401

(4)

Theatre in the United States, 1870-1895

405

(6)

The Theatre in Italy and Spain, 1850-1900

411

(1)

Russian Theatre and Drama, 1850-1900

412

(3)

German and Austrian Theatre, 1850-1900

415

(3)

Looking at Theatre History

418

(3)

CHAPTER 14 The Beginnings of the Modern Theatre, 1875-1915

421

(42)

Wagner and Saxe-Meiningen

421

(4)

Ibsen

425

(2)

Zola and the French Naturalists

427

(1)

Antoine and the Theatre Libre

428

(2)

The Freie Buhne and German Realism

430

(1)

The Independent Theatre and Realism in England

431

(3)

The Continuing Tradition in England, 1900-1914

434

(2)

The Moscow Art Theatre and Realism in Russia

436

(1)

Nonrealism in France

437

(3)

Appia and Craig

440

(2)

Strindberg and Freud

442

(1)

Nonrealistic Theatre and Drama in Germany

443

(3)

Nonrealistic Theatre in England

446

(2)

The Irish Renaissance

448

(2)

Russian Modernism

450

(3)

The Revival of Idealism in France

453

(1)

The Theatre in Italy and Spain, 1875-1915

454

(1)

Theatre in the United States, 1895-1915

455

(3)

Major Technical Innovations, 1875-1915

458

(2)

Looking at Theatre History

460

(3)

CHAPTER 15 The Theatre in Europe and the United States between the Wars